ORTHOGONAL

At Dye and Eskin, Inc. (D&E), we are intrigued by words. Clear and effective communication is a skill we value and work hard to achieve in both our business and personal lives. We take The Sunday Times crossword puzzle seriously, and as in other aspects of our lives, we do not go down to defeat.

Recently, we were surprised to encounter a word that was not immediately familiar to us – “orthogonal.” In mathematics, it refers to values that are perpendicular to each other. In casino gambling, skill and success are clearly orthogonal. Our context, however, is neither mathematics nor gambling so we looked a bit further for clarity. A definition that works well is:

“a way of thinking that involves exploring seemingly unrelated ideas to generate new insights.”

From a practical standpoint, orthogonal thinking allows us to tackle problems from unrelated angles. This is especially helpful in fields where innovation is critical.

Second, it helps us get out of our ruts. We can keep our minds open to new possibilities and avoid the old thought patterns.

Third, it opens us to new opportunities that might have been missed by using old thought techniques.

Fourth, we can possibly make better decisions by considering different angles.

Fifth, it encourages creativity and thinking outside the box.

Orthogonal thinking encourages all of us to look at things from a variety of perspectives. It is what keeps businesses fresh and successful!!